Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To cause to lose enthusiasm or resolution; disillusion or discourage: synonym: discourage.
- transitive verb To upset or distress.
- noun A sudden or complete loss of courage in the face of trouble or danger.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Sudden or complete loss of courage; despairing fear or apprehension; discouraged or terrified amazement; utter disheartenment.
- noun Ruin; defeat; destruction.
- noun Synonyms Apprehension, Fright, etc. (see
alarm ); discouragement. - To break down the courage of, as by sudden danger or insuperable difficulty; overcome with fear of impending calamity or failure; fill with despairing apprehension; utterly dishearten: usually in the past participle.
- To defeat by sudden onslaught; put to rout.
- To disquiet; trouble: usually reflexive.
- Synonyms To appal, daunt, dispirit, deject, frighten, paralyse, demoralize.
- To be daunted; stand aghast with fear; be confounded with terror.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb obsolete To take dismay or fright; to be filled with dismay.
- transitive verb To disable with alarm or apprehensions; to depress the spirits or courage of; to deprive or firmness and energy through fear; to daunt; to appall; to terrify.
- transitive verb obsolete To render lifeless; to subdue; to disquiet.
- noun Loss of courage and firmness through fear; overwhelming and disabling terror; a sinking of the spirits; consternation.
- noun Condition fitted to dismay; ruin.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
sudden orcomplete loss ofcourage and firmness in theface oftrouble ordanger ; overwhelming and disabling terror; a sinking of the spirits; consternation. - noun Condition fitted to dismay; ruin.
- verb To disable with alarm or apprehensions; to depress the spirits or courage of; to deprive of firmness and energy through fear; to daunt; to appall; to terrify.
- verb To render lifeless; to subdue; to disquiet.
- verb To take dismay or fright; to be filled with dismay.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb fill with apprehension or alarm; cause to be unpleasantly surprised
- verb lower someone's spirits; make downhearted
- noun the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles
- noun fear resulting from the awareness of danger
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word dismay.
Examples
-
So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?
Page 2 2007
-
So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?
Page 2 2007
-
So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?
Page 2 2007
-
So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?
Page 2 2007
-
So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?
Page 2 2007
-
So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?
Page 2 2007
-
So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?
Page 2 2007
-
So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?
Page 2 2007
-
So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?
Page 2 2007
-
So one day I´m working on the inland side of the house and I hear this shouting in dismay from the ocean side so I walked through the house and there was my wife shouting at the sea, Just shut the hell up will you?
Page 2 2007
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.